Case Analysis Springfield

Introduction

The case is set in January 2008 where Larry Buckingham who is the marketing director for Nor'easters, a new Class A minor league baseball team in Springfield Massachusetts is trying to price the tickets for the first season to be held in June 2009. His two main objectives were to maximize ticket income and attendance. The basis for starting a baseball team in Springfield is to take advantage of the city's distance from any major league game venue, and a moderate household income, thanks to recent boom in entrepreneurs and service industries like healthcare and financial sector. The problem is to set the prices for individual games and season passes that are neither too high for the Springfield residents nor too low and leave money on the table.

Demographics of the city of Springfield

— Third largest city in Massachusetts

— In 2006, median income for a family of three was $37,800 and median household income was $31,046.

Total Number of residents 55338

Percentage of population under 18 years of age 25%

Percentage of households with children below 18 years 60%

Percentage of senior citizens 10%

Percentage of population under age of 65 living alone 25%

Percentage of families living below poverty line 25%

Sporting Culture in Springfield

Despite Springfield being the third largest city in Massachusetts, the city residents were not exposed to professional sporting events. Springfield had only one other team-the Falcons, a minor ice hockey team as a professional sports team. As per a recent announcement this team would leave Springfield unless they sold 300 more season tickets for the upcoming season. Though the greater Boston area was home for baseball's Red Sox, football's New England Patriots etc there were hardly any teams in Springfield which was home to the Basketball Hall of Fame and considered as birthplace of basketball.

Springfield residents could either attend college sporting events at local schools or drive to Boston area for major events.

Minor League Baseball

Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball (MLB) and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses. Most are members of the umbrella organization known as Minor League Baseball (MiLB), which operates under the Commissioner of Baseball within the scope of organized baseball. Major league Rule 56 governs the standard